The Spritualist Attitude

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The Spiritualist Attitude

BY PHILLIP WITTMEYER

As one would expect, this is the optimistic Attitude. Remember that Attitudes reveal what perceptions people project onto the world, or what part of reality people tend to see. Spiritualists typically see the world as improving, evolving, developing to a higher state. They have high expectations of it, so they tend to get upset when it does not live up to their anticipation. They want to see it fulfill its highest potential. They hope there is a steady stream of progress in the future. Since this is the Aspect of the Cardinal position in the Inspirational axis which concerns one's perceptions of the outer world, a person with this Attitude perceives the world as evolving toward higher realms. Spiritualist's are far-sighted visionaries. They look down the road a long way, to see where it is all leading. They expect things to lead to a better world, a more highly evolved society, a finer place to live, a happier place, with fewer problems. Obviously there is a degree of distortion in this, because the world is at times a dreary, depressing place, and situations often get worse rather than better.

The Spiritualist Attitude is the complement of the Stoic Attitude. That is, Spiritualists tend to lack +Tranquility and -Resignation. Whereas Stoics tolerate suffering well — they regard it as an inevitable part of life in the world — Spiritualists cannot understand why it exists. They hide their eyes from it when they can, and if they can't, they beseech the Deity to heal it. Because Spiritualists tend to be hopeful and optimistic, they are subject to turmoil when reality does not live up to their grand expectation of it. Spiritualists do not easily resign themselves to reality. Instead, they tend to resist destiny/fate when it is not as noble, virtuous, or good as they expect. They do not tolerate bad fortune well. They will anguish in their minds, scream in their hearts, and squirm in their bodies — unable to calmly, serenely, go along with an inferior reality. Spiritualists have even been known to blame God for making a mistake in creating an imperfect world. Perhaps the biggest problem of Spiritualists is that they lack peace of mind, whereas Stoics tend to have it too much of it. The world with it's many imperfections so often disappoints Spiritualists. Reality itself is a disappointment to Spiritualists, because it does not live up to their vision of it — how it could be if only it would let go of all the garbage that holds it down.

Spiritualists like to believe in luck — good luck. They hope that fortune smiles on them in particular. This is especially true in the Negative Pole of -Faith. This is not faith in the sense of belief about religious tenets -- which is more a matter of credulity in the intellectual center -- but in the sense of wishful thinking. Rather than making sure things will turn out good, they just hope it will turn out all right. There is a fatalistic attitude in this just as there is in -Resignation, the negative pole of the complementary Stoic Attitude. Another way some people express -Faith is in superstition. They may feel that they are able to influence destiny by magical practices. They may feel that the world is run by spiritual forces, and that they have to appease or appeal to such forces out of fear of them.

Spiritualists really enjoy comedy and fun. They are not always able to produce it but they do like it. Just as Spiritualists look for fun and enjoyment in the world, they also look for religion and religious feelings.

The Spiritualist Attitude is the Opposite of the Emotional Center. The two contradict each other. Spiritualists have a difficult time with emotionality. They regard their feelings as part of their "lower" nature. If they have a strong Emotional Center which gives them "problems" with moodiness, they try to "rise above" this.

Often this Attitude gives a person an inherent interest in religion or spirituality of some kind. From an early age Spiritualists tend to have a sense that there are realms beyond the physical. This is not always the case, and quite often it just shows up as a person who is interested in psychology — the "spiritual" aspect of people. Another major factor in Spiritualists is their interest in ethics or morality. This arises out of their perception of the world as becoming a better place, and out of their own noble aspirations. This can make them difficult to be with, as they feel out the ethics of every situation. They want to do what is "right" — meaning the most virtuous and most ethical possible thing. They struggle for rectitude within themselves, and they have an expectation of righteousness on others. They are surprised when others do not share their ethical sensitivities. Others perceive them as moralistic and self-righteous.

The Positive Pole is +Verification. This word, of course, means to authenticate the truth. This is not to be understood in the sense of +Investigation, the Positive Pole of the Skeptic Attitude, which means to seek out the facts. +Verification means seeing the truth among the lies. Spiritualists look for transcendent factors at work in the world. Spiritualists see these grains of divine awareness among the chaff of falsehood. They focus on the part of the universe that is in fact evolving to higher realms, specifically toward ethical virtues. The whole cosmos is a "morality play" to them.

The Negative Pole is -Faith. The meaning of this word should not be confused with the meaning in Christian theology — trust in God or belief in Christ or something like that. It does not concern adherence to religious dogmas. Nor does it concern unproven beliefs of any kind, for that is more a factor of the Intellectual Centers. -Faith is a felt thing, not a thought thing. What it refers to is wishing and hoping in an emotional sense. As indicated above, people with this Attitude are optimistic — they expect things will turn out for the better, no matter how bad it seems in the present. If they are unreasonably optimistic, having no cause to be so, then they are denying reality and deluding themselves. Whereas people in the Positive Pole see what is true and good in the world, People in the Negative Pole get their hopes up that a miracle will deliver them. Thereby they continually set themselves up for disappointment.

One of the ways that -Faith manifests is in the matter of divination. Many Spiritualists in this Pole try to discern the auspices through one method or another. Fear prompts them to wonder, "Will my destiny be good or bad today?" If, to see what their fate may be, they consult astrology, tarot, psychics, tea leaves, the crystal ball, the I-Ching or whatever, these are exhibitions of -Faith if motivated by fear. Another way -Faith shows up is in superstitions — the unlucky number thirteen, breaking a mirror to get seven years bad luck, lucky charms, black cats, and so on. People in -Faith may develop their own collection of superstitions. People in -Faith may also look to omens which presumably foretell the future. The common element in divination, superstition, and prognostication is the feeling of luck, good and bad, as if one is at the mercy of supernatural forces. The fear that drives -Faith is the fear that their luck will be bad. In an active person, there may be attempts to influence destiny through magick rituals, or through charms such as the rabbits foot and the Saint Christopher medallion. In a passive person, there may be just hoping and wishful thinking that things turn out OK -- cross your fingers and look toward the heavens.

The way to overcome the Negative Pole of -Faith is to consider and apply the Positive Pole of Stoicism, +Tranquility. Don't let the setbacks in life get you down. Realize that the world is not really becoming a better place. It just grinds on inexorably, with both ups and downs in the process. Problems may go, but other problems will come. Do not expect things to always get better or worse in the long run, because it is not the way of the world.

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Phil Wittmeyer is a longtime Michael student and scholar of the teachings. He can be reached at: wittmeyer@hotmail.com